| JOHN
LEYTON (ARTIST BIOGRAPHY)
John Leyton
is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his
hit song “Johnny Remember Me”, (written by Geoff Goddard and
produced by the legendary Joe Meek) which reached Number 1 in the UK
chart in August 1961.
John Dudley Leyton was born on 17 February 1939 in Frinton-on-Sea,
Essex. After completing his National Service, he studied drama,
paying his way through drama school with bit-part roles in films and
on television. His first major acting role was his portrayal of
Ginger in a 1960 Granada TV adaptation of Biggles, which earned him
a large following of young female fans and led to the formation of a
John Leyton fan club.
Following the success of Biggles, Leyton attended a singing audition
with producer Joe Meek, and subsequently recorded the song “Tell
Laura I Love Her”, which was released on the Top Rank label. At that
time, however, Top Rank was undergoing a takeover by EMI, which had
already released Ricky Valance’s version of the same song. The John
Leyton recording was withdrawn from sale, and the Valance version
reached Number 1 in the UK chart.
A second single - “The Girl On The Floor Above” - was released on
the HMV label, but was not a success. His first big hit, “Johnny
Remember Me”, coincided with his appearance as an actor in the
popular ATV television series Harpers West One, in which he played a
singer named Johnny Saint Cyr. Leyton performed “Johnny Remember Me”
during the show, and the single subsequently charted at Number 1.
His next single, “Wild Wind”, reached number 2 in the chart, and
later singles also achieved chart positions.
Leyton appeared in the accliamed Guns at Batasi (1964) also
appearing in the popular film The Great Escape and in Von Ryan’s
Express starring Frank Sinatra. By the mid-1960s, he was no longer a
huge success as a singer, but had begun to make a name for himself
as a movie actor in the USA, taking starring roles in several major
films in the mid-to-late 60s.
He returned to the UK in the early 1970s and unsuccessfully
attempted to re-launch his singing career, signing to the York
record label in 1973. Acting roles became fewer and farther between
during the 70s, and by the early 1980s, he was no longer active in
showbusiness.
In the 1990s, however, he began performing in the Solid Gold Rock
‘n’ Roll Show, appearing with artists such as Marty Wilde and Joe
Brown. The Autumn 2004 tour featured Leyton, Showaddywaddy, Freddy
Cannon and Craig Douglas. Leyton has also returned to acting, with a
cameo appearance in the 2005 film Colour Me Kubrick starring John
Malkovich. In May 2006, Leyton released “Hi Ho, Come On England”, a
re-working of Jeff Beck’s “Hi Ho Silver Lining”, to coincide with
the World Cup in Germany. |
